THE PRINCE GOES HUNTING WITH THE WHITE CAT
The day was spent in hunting through the forest, and in the evening there was another grand feast at the palace, this time with music and dancing. The dancers were six large black cats dressed in spangled clothes, and their leaps and bounds and twirlings were wonderful. The Prince had never been so well amused in his life before.
Day after day slipped by, and still the Prince stayed at the White Cat’s palace, and he was so happy there that he quite forgot his father and the kingdom he had hoped to win. The year had passed, all but three days, when suddenly the Prince remembered his errand. He was filled with dismay, for now it was too late for him to seek for a little dog, and he feared he had lost all chance of winning the kingdom.
But the White Cat saw his trouble. “Do not be dismayed, Prince,” she said. “I know the errand that brought you here, and I am ready to help you.” She then handed him an acorn. “Here,” she said, “take this and you will find in it the thing you seek.”
The Prince thought the cat was mocking him, but she bade him put the acorn to his ear and listen. When he did this he could hear from within the acorn a sound of barking as thin and small as the squeaking of a mouse.
“Do not open it until you reach home,” said the White Cat. “Then, when your father sees what is inside of it he will know that you are the one who deserves the kingdom.”
The Prince thanked the cat, and mounted his own horse, which had been brought from the stables, and rode on home. Just before he reached his father’s palace he bought an ugly dog from a beggar, and took it with him.
When he entered the palace he went at once to the room where his father sat upon his throne with his two elder sons by him.